Play tennis or other racquet sports like Pickleball long enough, and there’s good chance that you’ll suffer a lower body injury. And while there’s no way to completely eliminate this risk, there are some ways you can work to greatly reduce your injury risk. One of the secrets to lowering your injury risk during racquet sports is tied to your ankle health, and we explore that training tip in today’s blog.

Ankle Mobility Is Key For Tennis Players

If you want to significantly reduce your likelihood of a lower body injury while playing tennis, work to improve your ankle mobility when you’re off the court. Targeted strengthening exercises, flexibility training or an activity like yoga can do wonders to improve your ankle flexibility, and research shows that ankle flexibility is closely tied to injury risk. A recent study published in the journal Physiology found that injury risk was closely tied to a tennis player’s ankle flexibility.

For the study, researchers tracked the biomechanical performance of 32 tennis players of different skill levels. They found that players with poor ankle mobility and control were not only more likely to lose power in their shots, but they were also more prone to overloading their feet and ankles during play. As you can imagine, repetitive overloading, especially on an ankle joint that is less equipped to handle these forces, is a significant indicator of injury risk.

The good news is that if we are aware of this association, we can work to reduce our injury risk by slowly improving our ankle flexibility and mobility. Of course, you’ll also want to follow some other smart tips when it comes to protecting your feet from injury during racquet sports. Be sure to wear shoes designed to support your feet during the athletic activity, take time to warm up before activity and gradually increase your workload so as not to overstress your feet in the short term. If you keep these tips in mind and connect with an orthopaedic specialist if a new injury develops, we’re confident that you’ll be doing what you can to keep foot and ankle injuries from keeping you off the court.

For more information, reach out to Dr. Silverman by filling out this contact form.

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How To Have A Strong Recovery After A Foot Injury

All foot and ankle injuries are unique to the individual, so there is no one size fits all solution to making a strong recovery after an injury. However, we’re confident that even if all of the following tips aren’t helpful, some of them will certainly increase your likelihood of making a strong recovery after a foot or ankle injury. Here is our advice.

1. Consult With A Doctor – Unless it is a very minor injury, you may benefit from seeking out an appointment with a doctor or similar medical professional. They’ll be able to figure out exactly what’s going on in your feet and the best way to care for your issue. If you try to treat the problem on your own but don’t know what you’re up against, pursuing the right treatment may prove difficult.

2. Active Treatments – One thing we preach pretty regularly on our blog is that you need to pursue proactive treatment options after a foot injury. Simply resting and taking painkillers won’t help treat the underlying issue or get you back to a pre-injury level of fitness. Odds are you’ll see much more progress if you eventually start pursuing active treatments like exercise, physical therapy and flexibility training. Your body will be weakened as a result of the injury, and these active treatments can help them become stronger and more stable. This ensures you can return to normal activities without fear of an aggravation.

3. Take Things Slow – Don’t try to rush back to normal activities before you are ready. Be prepared to take things slow and gradually take on greater physical challenges until you are back to pre-injury activities. Having unrealistic expectations and trying to get back to physical activities too quickly can lead to a setback. It won’t be easy, but you need to be patient with your recovery.

4. Follow Your Care Plan – It may sound obvious, but patients aren’t always the best at sticking to their recovery program. They may ignore their restrictions or give up on their physical therapy sessions too soon, and both of these pursuits will make it harder for them to make a full recovery. Once you have a care plan in place, do your best to stick to it.

5. Listen To Your Body – Finally, really take stock of your body and your overall health after an injury and during your recovery. If you’re developing new symptoms or you feel like you’re pushing yourself too hard during recovery, take a step back. You know your body better than anyone, and if something doesn’t feel right, or you believe you’re making great progress and want to take on more physical challenges, let your doctor or physical therapist know.

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Steps After An Ankle Injury At Work

Here are some helpful steps to consider that may make your injury claim run a little smoother.

1. Seek Medical Care – One of the first things you should do after a work injury is seek medical care. Perhaps it is obvious that you need it for your own health, but that’s not the only reason you should seek medical attention. If you are hoping to collect compensation through a workers’ compensation claim, then you need documented medical proof of the existence of a compensable injury. You need to visit a doctor to have your injuries assessed if you have any chance of winning an award.

For foot and ankle injuries, we recommend that you connect with Dr. Silverman. Dr. Silverman has performed countless IMEs or independent medical exams. He understands how to thoroughly conduct a review of your health and make it easy to connect the existence of your injuries to your work accident. Don’t just head to the doctor that your employer recommends, as they may have a history of providing favorable exams for your employer. You have a right to choose who you see for medical care after a work injury, so put your faith in a specialist like Dr. Silverman.

2. Report Your Injury – Report your injury to your employer through the proper channels. They will create an official injury report that will help you get the ball rolling on your medical claim. If they aren’t made aware of your injury, you’re going to struggle collecting compensation. Moreover, the longer you wait to report your injuries, the more red flags it signals to your employer’s workers’ compensation provider, as they may believe that your injuries actually happened off the clock.

3. Consult With A Lawyer – Workers’ compensations cases are a lot like surgery – they are complex in nature and rarely straightforward. You have a lot on the line when it comes to financial compensation, so don’t try to win your case on your own. Let a professional injury attorney help streamline the process and get you the compensation you deserve.

4. Follow Your Doctor’s Orders – Finally, be sure to follow your doctor’s advice as your claim plays out. If you skip appointments or go against their recommendations, the insurance company may cease payments on your claim because you are going against medical advice. Don’t give the insurance company any reason to stop making injury payments on your claim. Follow through on your doctor’s advice.

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Although it’s tough to see the exact mechanism of injury from the video, you can see the play by clicking here (The NFL doesn’t allow us to embed video clips on other sites, so you have to head over to Youtube to see the injury).

Lance underwent successful surgery on Monday to address what is being described as “a fibula fracture and ligament disruption.” He later tweeted that the operation was a success.

“I truly appreciate all of the messages and prayers. Surgery was a success and I am ready to attack this rehab process. We will never understand why, but I trust that it’s all a part of His plan. I will be back better than ever. This chapter is going to make the story even greater!”

Could Trey Lance Return This Season?

The 49ers believe that Trey Lance has been lost for the season, but there is at least a very small possibility that he could return. Although information about the exact type of fracture is limited, Dr. Silverman believes that there is an outside shot that Lance could return this season if he suffered a specific type of fibula fracture. He’s projected returns from ankle fractures before, and here’s what he had to say about Lance’s injury, surgery and rehab.

“From the injury in the description, I am under the impression that Lance sustained a Weber C ankle fracture with syndesmotic disruption. This particular ankle fracture breaks the fibula (the small leg bone), relatively high in the leg and disrupts the syndesmosis ligaments, which are the ligaments that hold the fibula to the tibia and make the ankle mortise a strong stable platform on which we walk.

This fracture and ligament is best treated very carefully. The fibula commonly needs to be fixed with a plate and screws to bring the bone out to length and to recreate the perfect rotation. If not done well these injuries can have long-term significant problems. In fact, more patients develop post-traumatic ankle arthritis from this ankle fracture than many other ankle troubles.

The ligament repair is always controversial between rigid screw stabilization or flexible fixation. In my opinion, flexible fixation has more advantages when the fibular fracture is easily fixed and less advantageous when that fracture is in multiple pieces or in a harder to surgically expose location. Screws need to be removed more often than the flexible fixation. I see more nerve injuries in patients that present to our clinic and have been treated with flexible fixation.

Regardless, this fracture takes time to heal. If it is a simple fracture and bone to bone apposition is possible, I expect six weeks to heal. The ligaments take four weeks to scar into place. I know that this has been described as a season ending injury, but I believe it has the potential to be otherwise. Patients with Lance’s athletic ability often can return to training 4-6 weeks after bone healing. It’s a long season, and if the 49ers stay in playoff contention we might see Lance be able to progress to the point that he could back up Jimmy Garoppalo, as it’s likely that the 49ers would stick with Garoppalo if he’s kept them in the playoff picture. But if an injury were to befell Jimmy G late in the season, it’s possible that Lance could be in a position to return.

For obvious reasons, I am hopeful that someone with such awesome talent (and an awesome name) returns quickly. We wish him the best of luck in his recovery.

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Best Practices For Treating Ankle Injuries

Remember, this is just some general guidance for non-emergency ankle injuries. If you believe you have a more serious ankle injury, or you want individualized advice for your specific injury, reach out to an orthopedic specialist in your area.

1. Rest – The first thing you’ll want to do after an ankle injury is to protect the area from further harm, and the best way to do that is to limit stress on the area. Get off your feet and avoid putting more strain on an already injured body part. Continuing to stress the area can lead to more damage and an even more severe injury. Don’t try to push through the pain. Put your long-term health first and rest the area as best as possible for 24-48 hours.

2. Ice – After an injury, your body goes into protection mode as the body works to bring white blood cells and fluids to the injury site. Unfortunately, too much fluid in the area can restrict movement and prolong your recovery. That’s where icing comes in. Icing an area will help constrict blood vessels and limit fluid pooling in the area. It’s often helpful to ice an ankle sprain right away to limit swelling in the ankle region.

3. Compression – Compressing the area has the same goals as icing. Compression works to limit fluid buildup in an area where an injury occurred. Compression socks or a mild wrap around the area will limit swelling, which can decrease function and range of motion. You don’t want the compression to cut off circulation, but a modest wrapping can help preserve more function as the body works to heal the injured structures.

4. Elevation – Elevate your feet and let gravity go to work. Elevating your legs above your heart makes it easier for fluid to drain away from the injury site, once again preventing problematic swelling and helping to retain normal joint function.

5. Gentle Range Of Motion Exercises – Finally, after a day or two, you want to start moving the area to increase blood flow and help expand your range of motion. Simple stretching or flexion exercises will help healthy blood move in and out of the area, bringing vital nutrients and oxygen to the injured structures. After initial rest, these therapy exercises and gentle movements will actually help you recover faster than if you had just rested the area for an extended period.

So if you’re dealing with an ankle injury, grab a bag of ice or some compression socks, head to the couch and elevate your leg for a bit. Do this throughout the first 24-48 hours, then carefully start moving and exercising the area so that circulation increases and tissue start strengthening.

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Protecting Your Feet in September

There are plenty of things going on in September where your feet play a crucial role. From early autumn hikes to Friday night football games, you need to be cognizant of your feet. Here are some ways to protect your feet in September.

Football and Foot Health – High school football is in full swing, and if you want to have a better chance of playing the whole season without injury, pay attention to your feet. Check out this blog post for five ways to prevent common football foot and ankle injuries, or check out this post for information on preventing youth football injuries. We also share some tips for preventing and managing concussions in this post. Finally, you should also keep these tips in mind when buying athletic cleats for your child.

Hiking – Hiking can take a toll on your feet, especially if you overdo it or hike in the wrong pair of shoes. In this blog, we share some tips for buying the right hiking boots for your situation, and here, we provide a guide for caring for your feet before, during and after a hike.

Marathon Training – A number of marathons are scheduled in September or October because the weather usually cooperates and running conditions are ideal. So if you are planning on running your first 5K or something longer, or you’re just looking for some of the most scenic running routes in the Twin Cities area, check out these related blog posts.

Fall Foot Issues – September also welcomes the official start of fall, and while it can be a pretty season, it can also be difficult on our feet. As you’ll find out in this blog post, fall can oftentimes be the most stressful time for a woman’s feet. Also, if you’re running outside, you’ll want to check out these tips for running in the fall.

Next month, Halloween and the month of October take center stage!

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The dangerous action in question occurs on slides. A number of parents believe their kid is at risk for injury if they attempt to navigate a slide on their own, so they come up with a solution – put the kid in their lap and go down the slide together. While this may seem like a good idea, it’s actually very dangerous.

Lap Sliding and Leg Fractures

A recent study decided to look at the nature of playground injuries among children. Roughly 1 in 3 injuries on the playground involved a fracture, usually involving the lower leg. When investigating these injuries, researchers found that the most common way a child suffered a leg fracture on the playground was when their foot caught on the slide while they were traveling down the slide on their parent’s lap.

“Many parents and caregivers go down a slide with a young child on their lap without giving it a second thought,” states lead researcher Charles Jennissen, MD, Clinical Professor and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Staff Physician, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. “And in most cases I have seen, the parents had no idea that doing so could possibly give their child such a significant injury. They often say they would never have done it had they known.”

The reason why lap sliding can be dangerous is because adults are much bigger and heavier than their child. If a kid goes down the slide by themselves and catches their foot, it’s unlikely to cause a major injury because there won’t be much force involved. But if you add an adult to the equation, a fracture can easily occur if a child’s foot gets stuck and the weight of the pair continues forward.

As you might have guessed, researchers recommend that adults and teens do not put a small child in their lap and go down a slide. If you think that’s the only way for your child to safely navigate the slide, use extreme caution to prevent your child’s foot from catching on the slide’s surfaces.

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FAQs About High Ankle Sprains

What is a high ankle sprain?

The high ankle ligaments in your ankle connect your tibia to your fibula, and they provide more stability for your ankle than the more commonly injured ligaments on the outside of your ankle. A high ankle sprain occurs when tearing takes place in these ligaments.

What’s the difference between a high ankle sprain and a regular ankle sprain?

A normal ankle sprain occurs when damage or tearing of the lateral ankle ligaments takes place. A high ankle sprain involves tearing to the ankle ligaments that connect your tibia and your fibula, which are stronger ligaments.

How does a high ankle sprain occur?

Mechanically, a high ankle sprain typically occurs when your foot experiences an excessive outward twisting while it is planted on the ground. This force stresses the high ankle ligaments as opposed to the more common lateral ankle ligaments. They are most common in impact sports like football and soccer.

What are the symptoms of a high ankle sprain?

Symptoms of a high ankle sprain include pain, localized tenderness, swelling and bruising in the ankle and foot, although this bruising is generally higher than than the bruising you’d experience during a common lateral ankle sprain.

How are high ankle sprains diagnosed?

This is a good question, because it can be difficult to diagnose a high ankle sprain. That’s because they are often misdiagnosed as a mild sprain, and thus patients don’t get the proper treatment. X-rays can help diagnose the condition, but sometimes I prefer to conduct a musculoskeletal ultrasound. This allows me to watch the ankle joint and confirm the status of the ankle and the nearby structures. This gives me a more thorough picture than doctors who are using less-detailed imaging techniques, which helps us ensure we are treating the underlying cause.

How are high ankle sprains treated?

Treatment of a high ankle sprain involves ensuring that the tibia and fibula remain in the correct position with respect to one another. This is typically done with RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). You may also benefit from a walking boot for the first few days while swelling and tenderness are at their apex. Physical therapy can help restrengthen the ligaments and tendons once swelling has subsided. You likely won’t need surgery unless another injury like a bone chip or fracture occurred at the time of the high ankle sprain.

How long does a high ankle sprain take to recover?

It usually takes about six weeks from the date of injury for an athlete to return to sporting activities, but that timeline can be extended depending on the severity of the sprain. If the ankle bones are displaced and surgery is needed, you usually need 3-4 months to make a full recovery.

The post Frequently Asked Questions About High Ankle Sprains appeared first on Lance Silverman, MD - Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Surgeon.

It’s not surprising that someone who suffers a severe ankle sprain would be more likely to suffer future ankle sprains, because the ankle ligaments would be damaged from the original injury, even after some healing has taken place. However, the new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that injuries to different areas of the body can increase an athlete’s likelihood of suffering a lower-body injury down the road.

Future Leg Injuries

For the study, researchers looked at data from 12 previous studies. What they found was that many types of injuries, including head trauma and concussions, were associated with a higher likelihood of a future lower limb injury.

“When we are injured we generally only focus on the body part that is being rehabilitated, yet it is just as important to keep the non-injured parts of your body healthy and injury free,” said lead study author Liam Toohey of La Trobe University in Bundoora, Australia, and the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

However, this focused rehabilitation on one area of the body can lead to reduced fitness levels or a lack of conditioning in other muscle groups, which can lead to subsequent injury when they try to return to athletics.

“During rehabilitation, it is common for the injured body site to be strengthened and conditioned, but often other body sites are not trained as much as they were before the injury,” Toohey added. “So when an athlete is ready to return to full training and competition, the other areas of their body may not be as conditioned as they need (to be) to withstand the demands of the sport – where they may then go on to sustain an injury at a different site.”

For example, researchers noted that athletes who has suffered an ACL injury were more than twice as likely to suffer a future hamstring injury than the average person. This is because the hamstring on the same leg may not be as conditioned as the hamstring on the non-injured leg, so when an athlete is trying to run at full speed, the less-developed hamstring is at risk for injury.

Similar associations were also seen after looking at the data. Muscle injuries to the hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors and calves were tied to a greater likelihood of a future muscle injuries in a different part of the leg. Concussions and spine injuries were also linked to an increased risk of future leg injuries.

The findings suggest that injured athletes and doctors should be aware of how certain injuries could predispose their lower body to future injuries, and move forward with appropriate rehabilitation plans after an initial injury. So if you’ve suffered an injury during athletic activity and want to talk about the best ways to reduce your likelihood of a future lower-body injury, reach out to Dr. Silverman today.

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The “O” in this case stands for Orthopedic Surgeon, and they are experts in all things foot and ankle. If you suffer an acute injury or just begin to notice that something feels different in your foot or ankle, look up an orthopedic expert in your area.

“Consumers don’t generally give much thought to their foot health – that is, until something goes wrong,” stated Jeffrey E. Johnson, MD, president of the AOFAS Board of Directors. “But 75% of all people experience foot pain at some point in their lives. That’s why AOFAS leadership felt it was imperative to educate consumers, so that they know how to find the best medical care before a problem arises.”

Look For The “O”

The “Look For The O” campaign stresses the importance of heading to a professional who specializes in foot and ankle conditions when you have concerns over foot or ankle pain. These professionals have distinct knowledge of common and uncommon foot disorders, and they can better diagnose and treat the condition than a primary care doctor.

The “Look for the O” campaign is grounded in five core messages, which are:

• That foot and ankle surgeons are fully trained medical doctors who can balance foot and ankle concerns with the patient’s whole body health.

• That foot and ankle surgeons complete extensive as well as ongoing medical training, which increases their expertise and effectiveness.

• That foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons don’t just operate, but provide both surgical and non-surgical treatments for everything related to foot and ankle health.

• That foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons are particularly competent at treating complicated cases.

• That consumers should seek a second opinion from a foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon, particularly when foot or ankle surgery is advised.

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